Congratulations ! You have made the decision to start Your career in the hotel industry.
This industry is one of the most fascinating and diverse industry worldwide and offers many opportunities to those who are motivated, ambitious and goal oriented.
With my Blog I want to motivate, assist and guide hoteliers from all over to start their career with a strategic plan instead of just getting a job and begin to work your way up. Either you are just starting out or are already well on your way. It does not matter. You choose a fascinating and also challenging career with has big rewards and also will present you with certain challenges along the way. My purpose is, to give You a very personalized and detailed guideline for your career and to assist You in preparing a plan for this exiting journey ahead of you. If you have already travelled some distances you will have already had some experiences and probably challenges too.
Just this morning I spoke with colleagues in Hong-Kong and another one in Dubai about the starting point in our careers . Myself, I started back in the mid 1970ties and they a few years later. Both of them are General Managers of with well known international hotel companies. We spoke about, how we started out and it was no surprise. Nobody of us had actually a real plan. We knew, we wanted to make it and eventually have our own hotels to manage but we did not know exactly, if we were travelling on a country road or on a highway to take us to our destination.
Looking back, we agreed, that not having had a plan actually did cost us serious money and presented us with some real and unexpected challenges along the way. I am not saying that just because You make a plan, that You will not have challenges but being prepared for them, will make Your journey so much easier as You will have a Plan B, because You are prepared.
The reasons You decided to work in the hospitality field can be anything from Your wish to travel the world, maybe You come from a family with hospitality background or You have discovered a passion to learn about people and cultures. There are very may other reasons, which made You choose this flamboyant industry. One of the big advantages is, that the hotel industry has a place for Introverts as well as for Extroverts, it has a place for technical people and it has a place for people which are of a creative and artistic nature. The hotel industry offers many opportunities also to cross over into related indsutries be it airlines, banking, insurances, shipping and much more.
Planning your career is a little like planning a journey or a long trip. Depending on your prefereces and budget You choose between a destination close to You, a foreign country or even another continent. You choose between mountains, the ocean or exotic islands. It really depends on your budget and preferences – or dreams. In order for You to start Your (career) journey You start with a plan. Usually you answer 3 seamigly very simple basic questions.
A. WHAT ? (do I expect from this journey)
B. WHERE ? (do I travel to)
C. WHEN ? (and how long do I travel)
These are easy questions for some who have a very clear idea of their destination and career coal. Excellent if You know it already, however you should check the answers a bit more in detail.
The WHAT : When starting your career, You probably know the answer. You want to become a successful Exc. Chef, a F&B Director, Director of Sales, an Executive Housekeeper, a Rooms Division Manager or something along this line. Now, lets fast forward and assume, that You finished your learning years (apprenticeship, hotel school, prakticum latest by age 25, you should be qualified to be in any of these positions 2-4 years later. The GM position you might want to add another 3 years. This means, by age 33-35 latest You should have achieved your career goal and You enter your prime earning years. Is it possible ? Of course it is. But it takes proper planning and answering the next questions in more detail. Even if the question and answers are somewhat basic, it is important to ask them and to really think about the answer.
The WHERE : By default You start your journey of course in your home country, be it the USA, UK, India, Germany or any other country You live in. For example in Germany, Austria or Switzerland You would normally begin with an apprenticeship. In the USA You would get a hotel school diploma or start as an Intern in a company. This is the time, when the clock starts ticking and You have to decide, if You want to remain and continue working in your city, region or country or if You want to explore the world and move abroad. Everything is possible, but You must know, what You really want ! Once You decided on the destination there will be a way. If You have a Mentor, do yourself the big favor and ask for advice and guidance. If you do not have a mentor yet sent it to us. Also You must keep in mind, that wherever You want to work, it will have an impact on your earnings and financial destiny. There are many more points to consider; here just the basic cosiderations.
The WHEN : Once You have completed the “WHAT” and “WHERE” You are set to start thinking about the “WHEN”.
The “WHEN” is about the number of years, You estimate You will need to reach the your goal. If You are familar with professional business plans the “What” and the “Where” stand for Mission, Vision , operational details and planning. The “WHEN” is, about numbers, it is about the long-term financial projections and your life-earning potential. The “WHEN” decides on the financial feasability and success of Your entire career and working life. Here is where You plan your earnings, savings and retirement. It is the most important part of Your plan and also the most personal one. Because You are starting Your career it is important for You to understand, that You are your own enterprise and decisions You make today will have a huge impact on your financial future. Here is where You are making financial assumptions and plans for your working life , that of your family and your retirment in the distant future. Most young hoteliers never think this far ahead. Neither did I or many of my colleagues. This is one reason, why Hotel Career Consultants was founded.
At this stage it will be difficult to be accurate and very detailed. However small decisions at an early stage of your career will have a long lasting impact. They can make You and they can break You. The “WHEN” is the part of your plan, which gives You a long-term and holistic outlook. Once You see the results for the first time, You will be surprised.
There are real life colleagues who retired 49 years of age. Realistically, by age 50-55 , you should be able to retire. That depends of course on the expectations You plan for yourself and your family. I was ready to retire at age 55. Why I did not do this, is content for another blog. Point in case. I did not follow my own career plan.
As You continue your professional journey, You will adjust and tweek your plan more frequently. This is normal and even necessary. Important is however, that You always keep Your eyes on the target and once You reach it You should really take time to evaluate how far You have come. You deserve it at that stage.
This site is about You and your career. You know, there is huge amount of information availabe about the hotel business and career building in general. However, I could not find one single site which dedicates itself to guiding and mentoring You in your career path. This cannot be done in Webinars. Everyone is an individual with strenght ad weaknesses. As you move on to the next step in your career I wish You personally a lot of success and good luck and look forward to see You here again.
Helmut